


A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Words

by perrysghost



Category: Dead Poets Society (1989)
Genre: M/M, a two year old called ivy, and a three year old called bobby, i wrote this at 3am so ignore any spelling mistakes, neil and todd moved to new york, they adopted two children, they have a family now
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-31
Updated: 2020-12-31
Packaged: 2021-03-10 22:21:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,114
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28444596
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/perrysghost/pseuds/perrysghost
Summary: Neil and Todd finally have the family they've always wanted to have. They adopted two children who love bedtime stories just as much as Neil loves telling them the stories he made up when he was younger.
Relationships: Todd Anderson/Neil Perry
Comments: 3
Kudos: 30





	A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Words

**Author's Note:**

> yes hello it’s me back at it again with a 4am fic i wrote in one go because i had an idea. 
> 
> dedicated to campitts nation ily all so much <3

“Bobby! Get back here you little monster!” Neil shouted as he chased after the giggling three year old. The three year old in question was covered from head to toe in bubbles, squeaking and running down the hallway away from his father. Todd stood up and sighed, shaking his head with a soft smile. 

“Did he run off again?” Todd watched Bobby disappear around the corner, leaving a trail of soapy bubbles behind him, before turning to face his husband to answer his question. Neil was stood leaning against the doorframe, their daughter sat on his hip picking at the cuff of his jumper. Todd’s heart melted a little at the sight of Neil and Ivy together; they looked so alike with their dark hair and kind eyes. They even had the same smile that could wrap Todd around their little finger in an instant. 

“Yeah,” Todd laughed, “he’s been out of the bath for five seconds and he’s already wreaking havoc.” He turned away to go chase after the toddler, who’s distant giggles let him know that Bobby was up to no good. Todd sighed and shook his head before chasing after the little trouble maker, leaving Neil and Ivy in the doorway, a loving smile present on his lips. 

In a matter of seconds, Todd emerged from around the corner carrying Bobby, who was now dressed in a fluffy teddy bear onesie that his parents had sent to them for Bobby’s third birthday. The sight of Toddy and Bobby, as Neil and affectionately named the pair, filled him with so much love that he thought his heart was going to burst; there were no words that could describe how much his family meant to him. Neil had promised Todd when they had decided to adopt that he was going to give them all the love in his body and all the love his father never gave him. These three people were the most important people in his life and Neil made sure that they knew it. 

“Bedtime?” Neil asked, raising his eyebrows at Bobby, who was laughing and flailing his limbs, pretending that he was flying (although he couldn’t be too sure what he was doing). 

“Bedtime.” Todd agreed, clearly exhausted after a day of chasing Bobby. 

“You ready for a bedtime story, baby?” Neil looked down at Ivy even though the two year old and kissed her forehead as he made his way to his bed. Even though both of the children had their own bedrooms they absolutely loved having their bedtime stories read to them in the bed that Todd and Neil shared. 

Neil sat Ivy on the bed as he shuffled into the middle, Todd and Bobby not too far behind. Bobby scrambled out of Todd’s arms and up onto the bed, immediately snuggling into Neil’s side and looking up at him with a grin on his face. Bobby adored bedtime stories. He really did. He loved how every night, Neil and Todd would tell a story that took him to a whole new world where anything was possible, just for a few moments. 

“I’ll go make the hot chocolate.” Todd smiled at the sight of his husband and children all cuddled up together and turned to leave the room. “I’ll be back in a few minutes.”

As Todd left the room he could hear the beginning of Neil’s newest story, passion and excitement present in his voice as he put on the voices of various characters. If there was one thing Neil was incredible at it was telling stories. Mr Perry had never told Neil a bedtime story; he said they were a ‘complete waste of time”. He had always told Neil that stories and playing make believe weren’t things that future doctors did. They were supposed to read books on science instead. According to Neil, his father had thrown out all his storybooks when he started school, claiming that they filled his brain with complete nonsense. However, his father’s clear dislike of fairy tales only made Neil want to read them even more, so after becoming tired of the chemistry books he was given to read, he began writing his own stories. Each story was different; they were unique and special to him.

By the time Neil left to move with Todd to New York, Neil had boxes and boxes filled with the notebooks containing every bedtime story he had ever written down. Although they didn’t seem that impressive to him now, Neil couldn’t part with them. They were the only thing that had made his childhood bearable and he didn’t want to lose them. Instead of keeping them in storage, Neil had started to read from them to their children every night in an attempt to give them the same chance to visit the far away worlds that he had. 

The sight that Todd rested his eyes on when he entered the bedroom was quite possibly the sweetest thing he had ever seen. Bobby and Ivy had drifted off to sleep, cuddling either side of Neil with soft smiles on their faces. Ivy had her small hand resting on Neil’s chest grabbing a small fist full of his shirt and Bobby was almost wrapped around him like a monkey, clinging on to his father. What made this moment that much more special, however, was Neil. He too had fallen asleep, an arm wrapped protectively around each child. His lips were slightly parted and he let out a quiet snore. He looked at peace. And he was. Neil had finally found the life he wanted to live; him, Todd and their two children together in their apartment in New York. It had been his dream for as long as he could remember to live in New York with the family kg his dreams and he had finally achieved it. 

Without even thinking, Todd quietly rushed over to the other side of the room in search of his camera. The only time he used this camera was to capture the most special moments, just like this one. He quickly snapped a picture of his family, his heart filling with love and adoration every second he stood there. 

He pressed a few buttons to bring up the picture he had just taken of the scene before him. People had always said that a picture was worth a thousand words and Todd finally understood what they meant by that. 

There weren’t enough words in the English language to describe just how precious this moment was to Todd. Nothing would ever be able to describe how he felt looking down at his little family that he loved with all his heart.

**Author's Note:**

> i hope you enjoyed!! 
> 
> you can find me over on twitter @idlyella :))


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